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Degradation of Nigeria’s National Parks: A monumental disaster

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Degradation of Nigeria’s National Parks: A monumental disaster

The Nigeria National Park Service has failed woefully as the custodian of our national heritage located in the seven National Parks in the country. Even the managers of this failed institution must agree that they have betrayed the trust and confidence reposed in them by the various governments and people of Nigeria. It was in view of this that a national daily recently dedicated a two-part editorial to this moribund institution. Something has to be done.

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The Gashaka Gumti National Park

Many people reading this piece would be wondering which National Parks are being referred to. And there lies the problem. How could a Federal Government agency have existed as a legal entity with statutory functions for almost twenty-six years and yet not up to five percent of Nigerians know anything about them? Even the National Park Service Headquarters in Abuja is hideous. This is an institution that is a product of the wave of environmentalism that swept across the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nigerians had been jolted from environmental improvidence in 1988 with the discovery of tons of well-packed toxic waste in the port town of Koko in the present Delta State. The real and imagined consequences were not such that could have been overlooked. While non-governmental organisations began to add their voices to the need for a deepened environmental consciousness, communities in the Niger Delta became incrementally aware of the depth of environmental degradation occasioned by oil exploration and exploitation.

The then Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) responded with a series of environmental legislations including the Federal Environmental Protection Decree (now Act) No. 58 of 1988 setting up the then Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), The National Parks Decree (Act) No. 36 of 1991 setting up the National Park Service and six National Parks in the country, namely; Chad Basin National Park, Kainji Lake National Park, Gashaka Gumti National Park, Old Oyo National Park, Cross River National Park and  Yankari National Park which was actually a later addition. There was also the Environmental Impact Assessment Decree (Act) No. 86 of 1992. All these legal instruments have undergone a series of reviews in the recent past including the one that led to the addition of two more National Parks, namely; Okomu National Park in Edo State and the Kamuku National Park in Kaduna State and converted the National Park Service into a paramilitary organisation.

The point being made here is that National Parks in Nigeria were set up as a response to the rising need to shield from destruction considerable portions of our floral and faunal resources including biophysical structures and all that should be considered as national heritage. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) are among the NGOs that worked towards the establishment of the National Parks. Also, many individuals, namely; Chief S.L. Edu, Chief Philip Asiodu, Brigadier-General Abba Kyari (rtd), Mr Pius Anadu, Mr. A.P. Leventis, Chief I.I. Murphy, Professor David Okali, Mrs Adetoun Fagbayi-Mohammed and many others contributed in no small measure, directly or indirectly to the realisation of the dream.

It is important to shed more light on the background and the raison d’etre of National Parks in Nigeria. Between 1981 and the year 2000 Nigeria lost 3.7 hectares of forests and only 4% of the country’s untouched forest cover was left. More frightening was the fact that the loss continued at the rate of 3.5% annually. This implies colossal loss of biodiversity. As at that time 484 plant species were threatened with extinction in Nigeria. Nevertheless, Nigeria’s remaining forests habour about 4000 different species of plants including those that have been found to be effective in the development of alternative medicine. There are also animals, including birds that can only be found in Nigeria and nowhere else. These include the Ibadan Malimbe, the Anambra Waxbill, the Jos Indigo Bird and the white-throated Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki), the Niger Delta Pigmy Hippo and the Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey.

Forests are home to wildlife and perform a broad range of critical environmental and climatic functions including the maintenance of constant supply of water. Forests habour species and at the same time have very deep economic, aesthetic, industrial and religious significance for humans. But the greatest threats to forests have been bush burning and illegal logging; a situation made hopeless by absence of measures aimed at regeneration and a valuation system. The need for an environmentally and socially equitable approach to forest management becomes imperative.

It is from this backdrop, therefore, that informed the need to set aside swathes of areas of scientific, historical and ecological significance for protection. However, the story of National Parks in Nigeria has been pathetic. The management of National Parks in Nigeria has been a self-evident demonstration of crass incompetence and lack of vision and proper understanding of its institutional mandate.  With regard to protection, no National Park is in any sphere better than it was at inception 26 years ago. They are characterised by degradation of infrastructure, loss of biodiversity, shrinking land mass and demoralisation of staff. As it stands, Nigerian National Parks will contribute to tourism development in Nigeria only when degradation itself becomes a tourist attraction.

While National Parks in most African countries contribute to economic development, ours have consistently become drainpipes that wallow in obscurity and deception. What can be more deceptive than using footages of chimpanzees and drill monkeys from the Drill Ranch (Pandrillus), a private rehabilitation centre in Afi Mountain in Cross River State, to produce documentaries of Nigerian National Parks? The management of the National Park Service has been capitalising on the shallow environmental consciousness of Nigerians for selfish ends.

The national security implication of the mismanagement of our National Parks is quite grave. Four of Nigeria’s National Parks, namely; Chad Basin National Park, Gashaka Gumpti National Park, Kainji Lake National Park and Cross River National Park sit on international boundaries. Some are even contiguous with National Parks and Forest Reserves of other countries. In other words, National Parks constitute a serious threat to national security. Bandits and insurgents hide in National Parks as a result of porous security apparatus while the insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country has provided a strong excuse to mask or explain away sheer incompetence. A serious appreciation of the importance and enormity of the task of park protection over the years should have given rise to linkages and collaboration with other security agencies in the country.

The thing about National Parks and what they protect is that these are things that cannot be replaced once they are gone.  Economies can rise and fall, employment rates rise and fall, human conflicts come and go.  But if we destroy the last examples of the natural world that once was Nigeria it can never be replaced.

How do we make Nigerians proud of their natural heritage?  How do we link it to their personal and collective visions of God and spirituality?  Sometimes I say to people, “you all claim to believe in God.  God put these things here, and he put them here and made this place before he put you here.  Who are you to destroy God’s creation?” and also to remind them that these natural treasures were handed down to them by their ancestors, and it is their responsibility to hand them down as they received them. We cannot achieve this by letting Chad Basin National Park cry out for redefinition. Is it still a National Park? Do we stand aloof and watch Kamuku National Park turn into grazing reserve and a highly ostentatious ‘superhighway’ tear the fringes of the Cross River National Park?

A comprehensive and urgent probe of National Park Service and a scientific census or audit of the natural resources within the confines of our National Parks has become imperative.

By Paddy Ezeala (Communication and development specialist; paddyezeala@yahoo.co.uk)

Three Nigerians among African Academy of Sciences’ Cohort 2 affiliates

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Three Nigerians among African Academy of Sciences’ Cohort 2 affiliates

Three Nigerians are listed among the 22 early career scientists selected by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) for the second cohort of the AAS Affiliates Programme that recognises exceptional young scholars. The AAS announced on Monday, March 6 2017 that the affiliates were selected through a merit-based review process.

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Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, Prof Berhanu Abegaz

The 22, who are PhD holders and below the age 40, were selected from Benin (two affiliates), Cameroon (two), Egypt (two), Ghana  (one), Kenya (three), Morocco (one), Nigeria (three), South Africa (two), Tanzania (two), Tunisia (two), Uganda (one) and Zambia (one), after what the AAS describes as a rigorous review process by eminent senior scientists who are AAS Fellows in the respective Academy’s regional offices. The Affiliates, adds the AAS, work in fields that include engineering, biosciences and heath research.

The Nigerians are: Olayinka Ayotunde Oridupa of the University of Ibadan (Medical and Health Sciences), Cyril Ehi-Eromosele of the Covenant University (Chemical Sciences) and Andrew C. Eloka-Eboka of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Engineering Technology and Applied Sciences).

The 22 were selected from the five regions of Africa to be AAS Affiliates from 2017 to 2021.
“These young scholars have shown promise in their fields and are deserving of the recognition,” said AAS Executive Director, Prof Berhanu Abegaz. “We will work with their institutions to provide them with opportunities to develop their careers and to leverage their skills and passion to contribute to Africa’s development.”

The AAS set up the Affiliates programme in 2015 to recognise, mentor and help early career professionals develop into world class research leaders. Through a donation from AAS Fellow and Senior Advisor Kevin Marsh, the Academy has set up a fund to promote the professional development of Affiliates and other early career scientists to help attract and retain them on the continent.

According to the AAS, Africa loses an average of about 20,000 professionals a year to countries outside the continent most of who are young people who leave because of lack of infrastructure and opportunities to grow their scientific careers.

The Affiliates will be supported to attend conferences, symposia and workshops and other activities that will improve their skills in proposal development, grant writing and pitching innovations to help them win more grants, improve their publication records and ensure that their research impacts their communities. AAS Affiliates will also be mentored by senior scientists, some of whom will be drawn from AAS Fellows.

“It’s encouraging to see organisations such as the AAS recognising the work that we do as young scientists and committing to our development by providing mentorship opportunities and tools which we can use for our careers to thrive and for us to contribute to the continued growth of our continent,” said Dr Melissa Kapulu, a Zambia-born postdoctoral fellow at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Programme. KEMRI is the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Images: UN Security Council in Nigeria

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Images: UN Security Council in Nigeria

Photo News Archives For the first time in the history of the country, the United Nations Security Council visited Nigeria, albeit from Sunday, March 5 to Monday, March 6 2017.

The UN delegation visited the cities of Maiduguri in Borno State and Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

On arriving Maiduguri on Sunday, the Security Council Visiting Mission to the Lake Chad Basin Region met local officials and civil society organisations before visiting an IDP camp. Later in the evening, the Council transferred to Abuja.

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Members of the UN Security Council arrive Maiduguri in Borno State as part of Lake Chad region visit observing needs and scaled-up response
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Welcome to Nigeria…
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UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, chairs UNCT meeting with UN Security Council delegation
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Meeting with UN Security Council in Abuja, Edward Kallon said urgent international support to Nigeria needed as scope of crisis is immense
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UN Security Council delegation meets with Acting President, Yomi Osinbajo, and Commissioners of ECOWAS in Nigeria
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“We stand with #Nigeria in responding to the crisis,” says Matthew Rycroft, President of UN Security Council, during a media briefing
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UN Security Council members in a meeting with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri, in a bid to getting first hand info on their challenges
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UN Security Council members meet Governo Kashim Shettima of Borno State, who affirms commitment to support crisis response efforts

 

 

Pollution kills 1.7m children yearly, says WHO

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Pollution kills 1.7m children yearly, says WHO

More than one in four deaths of children under five years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under-five years, say two new World Health Organisation (WHO) reports.

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Children exposed to air pollution. The WHO says that more than one in four deaths of children under five years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments

The first report, “Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment”, reveals that a large portion of the most common causes of death among children aged one month to five years – diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia – are preventable by interventions known to reduce environmental risks, such as access to safe water and clean cooking fuels.

“A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water.”

Harmful exposures can start in the mother’s womb and increase the risk of premature birth. Additionally, when infants and pre-schoolers are exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollution and second-hand smoke they have an increased risk of pneumonia in childhood, and a lifelong increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma. Exposure to air pollution may also increase their lifelong risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

 

Top 5 causes of death in children under-five years linked to the environment

A companion report, “Don’t pollute my future! The impact of the environment on children’s health”, provides a comprehensive overview of the environment’s impact on children’s health, illustrating the scale of the challenge. Every year:

  • 570,000 children under-five years die from respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution, and second-hand smoke.
  • 361,000 children under-five years die due to diarrhoea, as a result of poor access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
  • 270,000 children die during their first month of life from conditions, including prematurity, which could be prevented through access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in health facilities as well as reducing air pollution.
  • 200,000 deaths of children under-five years from malaria could be prevented through environmental actions, such as reducing breeding sites of mosquitoes or covering drinking-water storage.
  • 200,000 children under 5 years die from unintentional injuries attributable to the environment, such as poisoning, falls, and drowning.

 

Ongoing and emerging environmental threats to children’s health

“A polluted environment results in a heavy toll on the health of our children,” says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. She adds: “Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health, such as improving water quality or using cleaner fuels, will result in massive health benefits.”

For example, emerging environmental hazards, such as electronic and electrical waste (such as old mobile phones) that is improperly recycled, expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficits, lung damage, and cancer. The generation of electronic and electrical waste is forecasted to increase by 19% between 2014 and 2018, to 50 million metric tonnes by 2018.

With climate change, temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide are rising, favouring pollen growth which is associated with increased rates of asthma in children. Worldwide, 11–14% of children aged five years and older currently report asthma symptoms and an estimated 44% of these are related to environmental exposures. Air pollution, second-hand tobacco smoke, and indoor mould and dampness make asthma more severe in children.

In households without access to basic services, such as safe water and sanitation, or that are smoky due to the use of unclean fuels, such as coal or dung for cooking and heating, children are at an increased risk of diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Children are also exposed to harmful chemicals through food, water, air and products around them. Chemicals, such as fluoride, lead and mercury pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and others in manufactured goods, eventually find their way into the food chain. And, while leaded petrol has been phased out almost entirely in all countries, lead is still widespread in paints, affecting brain development.

 

Making all places safe for children

Reducing air pollution inside and outside households, improving safe water and sanitation and improving hygiene (including in health facilities where women give birth), protecting pregnant women from second-hand tobacco smoke, and building safer environments, can prevent children’s deaths and diseases.

For example, multiple government sectors can work together to improve the following:

  • Housing: Ensure clean fuel for heating and cooking, no mould or pests, and remove unsafe building materials and lead paint.
  • Schools: Provide safe sanitation and hygiene, free of noise, pollution, and promote good nutrition.
  • Health facilities: Ensure safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and reliable electricity.
  • Urban planning: Create more green spaces, safe walking and cycling paths.
  • Transport: Reduce emissions and increase public transport.
  • Agriculture: Reduce the use of hazardous pesticides and no child labour.
  • Industry: Manage hazardous waste and reduce the use of harmful chemicals.
  • Health sector: Monitor health outcomes and educate about environmental health effects and prevention.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) countries are working on a set of targets to guide interventions for children’s environmental health, as well as to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five by 2030. In addition to SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, other SDGs work to improve water, sanitation and hygiene, transition to clean energy to reduce air pollution, and reverse climate change – all of which will have an impact on children’s health.

Shell undertakes turnaround maintenance at Bonga

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Shell undertakes turnaround maintenance at Bonga

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has commenced turnaround maintenance at Bonga, executing statutory activities that will ensure continuous optimum operations at the deep-water field which began producing in November 2005.

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SNEPCo Managing Director, Bayo Ojulari. He says this is the fourth turnaround maintenance since Bonga began production

Production from the field was shut down on Saturday, March 4 2017, and is expected to resume at the conclusion of the exercise next month.

“This is the fourth turnaround maintenance since Bonga began production,” said Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director SNEPCo. “The exercise will help ensure sustained production and reduced unscheduled production deferments. For the Bonga team, this is another opportunity to excel, having won the ‘Asset of the Year’ Award 2016 in the Shell Group, followed by runners-up in Norway and Malaysia. We are pleased that the award recognised the continuing collaboration towards optimum production with a focus on safety, cost and Nigerian content development which will be invaluable in the maintenance work.”

The turnaround maintenance involves inspections, recertification, testing and repair of equipment as well as engineering upgrades with Nigerian companies and subsea professional playing key roles. A major focus is the Bonga floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is at the heart of Bonga operations. The Bonga FPSO has the capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

Bonga is Nigeria’s first deep-water development in depths of more than 1,000 metres, and is located 120km offshore Nigeria. SNEPCo expanded the project with further drilling of wells in Bonga Phases 2 and 3 and through a subsea tie-back that unlocked the nearby Bonga North West field in August 2014. Bonga Phase 3 achieved first oil in October 2015.

SNEPCo operates Bonga in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deep Water) Limited; Total E&P Nigeria Limited; and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited under a Production Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Ekiti, Nasarawa to introduce sex education in curriculum

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Ekiti, Nasarawa to introduce sex education in curriculum

In collaboration with the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) and Ford Foundation, the governments of Ekiti and Nasarawa states recently in Lagos publicly presented the Family Life Health Education (FLHE) Curriculum that will be used in secondary schools to teach students.

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Mrs. S. Mnena Lan, Programme Manager, Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) (left), with Mrs. Adenike Esiet, Executive Director, Action Health Incorporated, speaking at a roundtable held to engage media and other stakeholders to disseminate the published Family Life Health Education (FLHE) curriculum of Ekiti and Nasarawa states.. in Lagos on Friday, 24th of February, 2017

The development, which is in apparent response to the rampant cases of sexual abuse among youths, now sees three states adopting the FLHE Curriculum, with Lagos being the first.

President of NAS, Professor Motso Onuoha, said the Academy facilitated the curriculum because of its desire to ensure that the benefits of Science and Technology are translated into the benefit of the people.

He added that the documents would ensure that government officials develop strategies to improve social development and reproductive health of youths in their respective states.

“Our aim at the NAS is to ensure that the gains of science and technology are made available to everyone. There are existing curricula addressing the issues of family life and health education, but some of the concepts and areas of emphasis are not keeping with contemporary trends. There is a misconception among the teachers about how to transmit the concept of family life and health education to the youth,” he stated, adding that the engagement with the state governments revealed that teachers who would implement the plan were eager to learn new materials and incorporate them into the existing curriculum.

Professor Akinyinka Omigbogun, who is also from NAS, noted that if the youths are not well educated on reproductive health, the future of the country is at risk.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Nasarawa State, Abari Aboki, said that the introduction of the curriculum in the existing curriculum for secondary schools in the state would ensure that pupils make the right choices to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Executive Director, Action Health Incorporated, Adenike Esiet, said the curriculum would equip pupils with information about human sexuality and interpersonal skills, as well as assertiveness and refusal skills that would allow them to learn about resisting pressures to become prematurely involved in sexual activity. She said that studies had shown that by the end of their teenage years, eight out of 10 young people had initiated sexual intercourse.

“These sexual encounters are generally sporadic and without protection. More than half of all the new HIV infections are in people under the age of 25 with girls being disproportionately affected. Young girls aged 15-19 are three to four times more likely to be HIV positive compared to boys of the same age,” added Mrs Esiet.

SAWAP promotes collaboration with social media, web tools

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SAWAP promotes collaboration with social media, web tools

A forum held recently in Accra, Ghana has attempted to promote collaboration and build a community of practice through the use of social media and collaborative web 2.0 tools among a group of media practitioners.

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Participants at the Regional Workshop on SAWAP teams’ and media men and women’s capacity building for the use of social media and collaborative web 2.0 tools for development held in Accra, Ghana

Held February 13-16 2017, the regional capacity building workshop likewise involved the project teams and the main stakeholders of the SAWAP (Sahel and West Africa Programme in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative) portfolio as well as the BRICKS (Building Resilience through Innovation Communication and Knowledge Services) project executing institutions.

Besides sharing knowledge and networking, the workshop allowed participants to collect, process and disseminate the lessons learned, success stories and knowledge acquired in each SAWAP project, using social media platforms.

The opening ceremony workshop was chaired by Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, along with Saadia Owusu-Amofah of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Office in Ghana, who underlined the importance of the BRICKS and SAWAP projects, as well as the need for the protection and management of land and water resources.

Various presentations were made during the weeklong programme. They include:

  • Presentation of the BRICKS and SAWAP projects by Dankoulou Abdoulkarim, CILSS communications manager and member of the BRICKS communication working group
  • Success stories as a tool for communication and dissemination of best practices by Lilia Benzid, communication and gender specialist at OSS and member of the BRICKS communication working group
  • Safe navigation on the Internet by Robert Sanhama, IT manager at CILSS and IT support  for the BRICKS
  • Social media aspects and collaborative tools by the trainer and moderator Christophe Hien
  • Draft of Social Media Policy by Sandrine Ouattara, Editorial Content officer and member of the BRICKS communication working group
  • The BRICKS communication strategy and 2017 communication plan by Félicité Mangang, communication and relationship with IUCN members officer and member of the BRICKS communication working group

One of the highlights of the workshop was the development of a web 2.0 communication strategy by all participants, who were also introduced to the performing tools of the new SAWAP portal, as well as “Climate”, the online SAWAP community radio.

Radio Report: Chief of Air Staff advises new officers to love their country

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Radio Report: Chief of Air Staff advises new officers to love their country
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, has advised newly commissioned officers of the State Security Service to always love their country and bring new ideas in intelligence gathering, required to overcome contemporary security  challenges in the country.
He spoke recently during the passing out parade of Cadet Officers  at the State Security Services Academy in Ojo, Lagos.
Correspondent Innocent Onoh witnessed the event and now reports.

YVE Nigeria lauds Amina Mohammed

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YVE Nigeria lauds Amina Mohammed

The Young Volunteers for Environment (YVE) Nigeria has described the appointment of Amina J. Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations as a round peg in a round hole.

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Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. The YVE has hailed her new appointment. Photo credit: i.vimeocdn.com

The organisation, in a statement made available to EnviroNews on Sunday, March 5 2017, described her as a leading light on sustainable development issues.

The statement, endorsed by Executive Director of YVE Nigeria, Prince Olawuyi Seyi, reads in part: “We want to use this medium to congratulate Ms Amina Mohammed on her resumption as the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General.

“Indeed, we have absolute confidence on your works and we hope you continue to be ‘A mother to all African youths’, a promoter of sustainable environment and a voice for the voiceless.”

YVE Nigeria is a member of YVE International, a non-governmental organisation working on sustainable environment issues like climate change, clean energy, conservation of biodiversity, as well as water and sanitation.

The organisation has 25 chapters across Africa and is headquartered in Lome, Togo.

TV Report: Kaduna tremor implication

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TV Report: Kaduna tremor implication

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